If you are dealing
with credit problems, the type of lawyer you want
will depend on which side of the fence you’re
on:
-
If you’re a consumer
with credit problems, you may be at the
point where you will probably want a lawyer
who specializes as debtor’s counsel in
bankruptcy matters
-
If you have a
business with credit problems, you may not be
at the point of bankruptcy. Your first stop
should probably be with a business lawyer who
has expertise in representing businesses
similar to your operation. This lawyer could
initially assess your problems and try to come
up with a game plan to resolve them. If this
lawyer is not the person to solve your
problems, he or she may then refer you on to a
bankruptcy lawyer, if necessary.
-
If you’re a
creditor collecting a consumer debt, you may
want to go straight to a lawyer who
specializes in collection matters. You should
also look at simply turning your accounts over
to a collection agency, which will usually
have its own lawyer to pursue appropriate
legal action.
-
If you’re a
creditor collecting a business debt, a
business lawyer who specializes as
creditor’s counsel may be your best bet.
You’ll need to do
some initial screening of your list of lawyers to
whittle it down to three or four prospective
candidates. Look at biographical information,
including whatever you can find on Web sites for
the lawyers and their law firms. Do they appear to
have expertise in the area you need? Do they have
any information on their Web sites that is helpful
to you? Lawyers who represent creditors on
collection matters usually don’t represent
consumers with problems in this area. So if you
have debt problems, look at the profile for the
lawyer and his or her firm to see whom they
primarily represent. If you can’t tell, call the
lawyer’s office and find out. Use search engines
to surf the Internet. Can you find any articles,
FAQ’s or other informational pieces the lawyer
has done that give you a level of comfort?
Cross-check your references by doing searches
using key words such as “collection attorneys”
or “bankruptcy attorneys.” Ask other people if
they’ve heard of the attorneys and what they
think about them. Contact your state bar
association or visit their Web site to find out if
the lawyer is in good standing. Check out the
yellow pages of your telephone directory. Does the
lawyer advertise? If so, do you find it
compelling? Helpful? Tasteful? Check out the
online archives of your local newspaper. Has there
been any publicity about the lawyer or the cases
that he or she has handled? Consider any special
needs you have. For example, could you benefit
from an attorney who speaks a language other than
English? You shouldn’t necessarily cross a
lawyer off your list just because he or she
didn’t have the time to meet with you on short
notice. Good lawyers in this area usually have
high-volume practices. Sometimes this is by
necessity, because people with credit problems are
usually not in the position to pay a lot in
attorneys’ fees, so lawyers need the high volume
to make ends meet. As a result, they may be so
busy that they will not be able to spend a lot of
time responding to inquiries from prospective
clients. You should also anticipate that whomever
you hire might have to delegate a lot of
responsibility to his or her staff. Unless there
are special circumstances, you’ll want to hire a
lawyer with a local office. Before you hire a
lawyer, ask for references. You want to talk to
people who could comment on the lawyer’s skills
and trustworthiness. Ask if it is okay to talk to
some of the lawyer’s representative clients. Get
a reference from a bank and from other lawyers.
Bankruptcy lawyers should also be able to give you
the names of other attorneys who have worked with
them. Ask about conflicts of interest. Does the
lawyer represent any opposing parties? If you are
filing bankruptcy, for example, does the lawyer
represent any of your creditors? Ask for a copy of
a firm brochure and promotional materials that the
firm may have. Crosscheck these materials against
your other sources and references. Is this a
one-time problem or a recurring one? For people
filing bankruptcy, hiring debtor’s counsel will
hopefully be a one-time experience. However, if
you have a business routinely dealing with
customers filing bankruptcy, you should think
about retaining a lawyer or a law firm having
areas of expertise that cover all of your
anticipated business needs. Look to see if a
lawyer is affiliated with associations that cater
to your legal issues. For example, a prominent
association for lawyers specializing in
representing consumers with credit problems is the
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy
Attorneys (www.nacba.com). Prominent organizations
representing creditors on collection matters
include the National Association of Retail
Collection Attorneys (www.narca.org) and The
Commercial Law League of America (www.clla.org).
Money Matters A debtor can usually hire a lawyer
for a flat fee for a simple bankruptcy. Short of
filing a bankruptcy, though, debtor’s counsel
will likely charge by the hour. (If you’re a
consumer with credit problems, you probably
don’t have the money to pay a lawyer by the
hour. This is one reason why you may need to
consider filing bankruptcy if your problems are so
pressing that you need to see an attorney.) The
rates tend to be competitive, so you might want to
shop around if you’re looking to file
bankruptcy. If you’re a creditor turning an
account over to collection, the collection agency
will usually charge you on a sliding scale, based
on a percentage of whatever is collected. The cost
of their lawyer will usually be included in the
collection fee. Otherwise, creditor’s counsel
usually charges by the hour.
